Gordon Was Sitting on a Pile of Cash When He Decided to Retire

Here’s a real reason for Democrats to panic: Tennessee Democrat Bart Gordon, who announced his retirement this morning, had $1.2 million in cash-on-hand in his last FEC filing.

Only one of his Republican challengers had any cash on hand at that filing, an entire $13,731.

Oh, Gordon probably would have attracted a bigger-name challenger, who might have been able to tap into more money. But the bottom line is that Gordon would have gone into this cycle with a more than healthy supply of cash, and he still seemed to find the road ahead pretty daunting.